If YOU are one of the people who was just about to post a NWN mechanics related question in DM Q&A or General Discussion, don't click the "Submit"-button just yet! Chances are pretty good that you'll find the answer to your question from

http://www.nwnwiki.org

Most people still sticking to NWN have known about this site for a long long time now, but since I still keep seeing mechanics questions posted here at the forums that I know NWNWiki could have answered, I guess it's best to post a thread about this. Look around the site if you didn't know of it yet, you'll be amazed at how many secrets about the mystifying NWN engine they've uncovered there.

For instance, the entry about Stealth was updated just a couple of months ago, after a few Bioware employees finally got round to digging up the details about how the engine handles stealth mechanics. Yes, all of that "+5 DC for every 40cm of thickness" and "+5 DC if they are in the back arc" stuff is for real, the modifiers are far more complex than anyone had imagined.

So, the message is: less lazy mechanics posting, more happy NWNWiki browsing!

There's even a Firefox search plugin!

Absolutely fascinating! I knew about this, but not about Stealth. Thank you very much.

with this knowledge then it's no surprise my old rogue could stealth around in the Underdark right next to a beholder and practically tickle its underside without being noticed!!

What the heck does back arc mean?

It means that if you have your back turned towards a stealthed character, the DC to Spot them increases by 5. So, essentially, your character's facing affects the modifiers too.

That stealth modifier list is great. :shock:

There's also a thing called Neverwinter Grimoire, which is basically a compilation of all the NWN+SoU+HotU rules in .pdf form. (Although I hate pdf's, this one has been rather useful). I might be converting to NWNWiki though.

Anyway, here's the link for the Grimoire: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Other.Detail&id=729